Baseball board game

ABSTRACT

An example board game may include an infield game board and a fence. The fence may comprise one or more wall pieces that may be secured together and supported by stands such that the user may assemble and place the fence at any desired distance from the game board, such that the open space of the floor or other surface between the board and fence is the outfield. The game is played using user&#39;s existing baseball card collection placed around the field as players on defense and batters/runner on offense. A coin, disk, ball or other object may be the baseball, wherein players may “hit” and “throw” the ball by propelling it with their thumbs, e.g., the batter hits the ball into the field and the nearest to reach the ball before the runner reaches base may throw the ball to the base to record an out.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/380,912 filed on Aug. 29, 2016 and titled “Baseball Board Game”, which application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to board games, and in particular to apparatus and methods for a baseball themed board game.

BACKGROUND

A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. These cards typically feature one or more baseball players or teams. Cards are most often found in the United States, but are also common in countries such as Canada, Cuba, and Japan, where top-level leagues are present with a substantial fan base to support them. Some companies that are notable for making these cards include Topps, Upper Deck, and Panini. Previous manufacturers include Fleer (now a brand name owned by Upper Deck), Bowman (now a brand name owned by Topps), and Donruss (now a brand name owned by Panini Group). Baseball cards have been declining in value since the 1980s after the production of mass-produced cards and counterfeit cards started, however, baseball cards are still one of the most influential collectibles of all time.

Collecting baseball cards is an industry unto itself. Baseball cards have been produced for almost as long as the game has been played professionally. The buying, selling, and trading of these cards are therefore a reflection of not only people's feelings towards particular players, but also of fans' fascination with the rich history of the game. A baseball card is both a snapshot of a baseball player during his career and a slice of Americana.

Similarly, board games have also grown in popularity in America, beginning as early as 1822 with the publication of the board game Traveler's Tour Through the United States and its sister game Traveler's Tour Through Europe by New York City bookseller F. & R. Lockwood. Since then, countless different board games have been introduced and enjoyed as a source of entertainment and social interaction among family and friends. A board game is typically known as a tabletop game that involves counters or pieces moved or placed on a pre-marked surface or “board”, according to a set of rules. Some games are based on pure strategy, but many contain an element of chance; and some are purely chance, with no element of skill.

Despite the rich histories of both baseball cards and board games, until now there has been no board game that combines these two great American pastimes in a way that allows players to user baseball cards of their choice from their existing collection to play a baseball-themed board game.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides the first baseball board game that allows users to use the baseball cards of their choice, for example baseball cards they already collect, buy, sell, and trade. Such cards could be the baseball cards they've had since they were a kid, sitting in a box, and now they can actually bring them out and play a game of baseball with them. Baseball card collectors can play with any cards from their collection.

In some embodiments, an example board game may include an infield game board, also referred to herein as a game mat, and a fence. The fence may comprise one or more wall pieces that may be secured together and supported by stands such that the user may assemble and place the fence at any desired distance from the game board. For example, in some embodiments the fence may be placed approximately three feet to five feet or more from the game board when the game board is laid on a floor or other large surface. In such embodiments, the open space of the floor or other surface between the board and fence is the outfield.

Embodiments herein describe the first baseball board game that uses the floor as a baseball outfield. This makes the playing field bigger than any other existing baseball board game, and provides the user(s) (also referred to herein as “players”) with flexibility in determining where to position the game board and to vary the level of competition and skill required for play. For example, users have the option to move the fence back and forth if/as desired to make the game have a large outfield or smaller outfield, which varies the space between player cards and the space within which the “batter” may “hit”, or propel, the game ball piece or coin (as described in more detail below).

In some embodiments, a baseball board game as shown and described herein utilizes the game board as an infield and the floor as the outfield. In this game, the user uses their own baseball cards as the game pieces.

In some embodiments, the rules of the game are similar to baseball, e.g., with 7 or more innings, each of which having a top and bottom of the inning with three outs per team. The field may be set up with a user's own baseball cards, e.g., by placing a pitcher card at the pitcher position, first baseman at first base, second baseman at second base, etc.

In some embodiments, a player may “hit” the ball by using their thumbs to launch the game piece ball (e.g., a penny, other coin, a game disk, dice, or other device) to wherever desired on the game board or the outfield. The Batter card now flips one time, if the ball was hit to the outfield the nearest outfielder flips one time. Then the batter flips, then the outfielder, etc. until the outfielder touches the ball or the batter (now runner) touches first base. If the outfielder gets to the ball first he or she uses his thumbs to throw the ball piece. If he or she hits the base, the runner is out. If the outfielder over throws the ball, now the first basemen (or other nearest player) flips once to get the ball and the runner could advance if he wants by flipping once.

In such embodiments, the consumer is using their own baseball cards that they buy, sell, trade and collect to flip and play with (and possibly trade or exchange) during play of the board game. If a user collects an entire major league team, he or she can play with that team. In some embodiments, players from various teams (and of various positions, if desired), may be used. Also, the present board game and method utilizes the game board portion as the infield and the floor as the outfield, with a fence for home runs.

These as well as other aspects and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description, with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further, it should be understood that the embodiments described in this overview and elsewhere are intended to be examples only and do not necessarily limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a schematic illustration of a game board for use in a board game in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a schematic illustration of a fence including fence members that may be assembled for use with the example game board of FIG. 1A in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 1C is a schematic illustration of fence stands for supporting the fence members of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the game board and fence set up in accordance with an example embodiment of a baseball-themed board game described herein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the board game setup of FIG. 2, including baseball cards and a game piece ball or coin.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a method of playing a baseball-themed board game in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a method of playing the board game in accordance with an example embodiment.

Like reference numerals refer to the same or similar components throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Described herein are apparatus and methods for a baseball-themed board game. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous examples and specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the aspects of the systems and methods. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention as defined by the claims may include some or all of the features in these examples alone or in combination with other features described below, and may further include modifications and equivalents of the features and concepts described herein.

II. Example Board Game Embodiments

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1C, an example embodiment of pieces of a board game are shown, including an infield game board 100, a fence 120, and fence stands 130.

In some embodiments, there are two or more separate pieces for the game. One of the pieces may be an infield game board 100, and second may be a fence 120. The fence 120 may include one or more fence members 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, 120-4, which may be assembled together and supported using fence stands 130, for example three stands 130-1, 130-2 and 130-3 to support the fence members.

Game board 100 of FIG. 1A may include a board 110, matt or other substrate made of cardboard, wood, plastic, rubber, vinyl, fabric, or any other desired material, and may include markings or other indicia to resemble a baseball infield, including for example first base 112, second base 114, third base 116, home plate 118, and/or a pitcher's “mound” 119.

FIG. 1B is a schematic illustration of a fence 120 including fence members 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, 120-4 that may be assembled for use with the example game board of FIG. 1A in accordance with an example embodiment. Each member 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, 120-4 may be configured and dimensioned as an elongated card, having ends 126 and 128, each of which may be joined with a corresponding end of adjacent members (e.g., using fence stands 130 as in FIG. 1C) to form an outfield fence or wall (e.g., see assembled wall 120 as shown in FIG. 2). In some embodiments, one or more of the wall members 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, 120-4 may include one or more folds 122, 124, e.g., formed by a fold, crease, perforation, score, or other feature in the member to facilitate folding.

FIG. 1C is a schematic illustration of fence stands 130 for supporting the fence members 120 of FIG. 1B. For example, some embodiments may include multiple fence stands 130, e.g., stands 130-1, 130-2, 130-3, each of which may include a base 132 and a pair of supports 134 configured and dimensioned for securing a bottom edge of one or more of the wall members 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, 120-4. In some embodiments, supports 134 may comprise a pair of tabs extending substantially perpendicularly from the base 132, and base 132 may be substantially planar such that it may rest on the floor and keep the wall members 120 upright when inserted between the tabs of support 134

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the game board 100 and fence 120 set up in accordance with an example embodiment of a baseball-themed board game 200 described herein. The assembled board game 200 may include fence 120 and game board 100, both of which may be placed on any floor (e.g., carpet, hardwood, concrete, vinyl, plywood, or any other common household or commercial flooring or substantially flat surface). In some embodiments, game 200 may be placed on a large table or other desired surface. Fence 120 may be positioned on the floor at a desired distance from the game board 100, for example from three feet to five feet or more away from the game board. Adjacent ends of fence members 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, 120-4 may be connected together and held upright by fence stands 130-1, 130-2, 130-3, as shown in the assembled fence 120 of FIG. 2.

The open space 220 (floor) between the board and fence is the outfield, e.g., defined by the back edges of board 100, the fence 120, and sidelines 222 and 224 (shown as dashed lines, which may be simply imaginary or in some embodiments may be represented by included strings, material or other members to mark lines). A user may move or position the fence at any desired position to make the game have a larger or smaller outfield, for example depending upon the amount of available floor space and/or to vary the difficulty of the game. In some embodiments, additional (or fewer) fence members 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, 120-4 may be employed to extend (or shorten) the length of the fence, which will also vary the size of the outfield and may vary the difficulty level of the game.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of the board game setup 200 of FIG. 2. In this example, baseball cards for two opposing teams are distributed about the board 100 for game play. The defense is the team that plays on the field. There are nine positions to play on the field in a typical game of baseball (1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, catcher, pitcher, shortstop, left field, right field and center field), so in some embodiments of the present game 200 each player or team will have at least nine baseball cards to play. In some embodiments, fewer or more cards and/or positions may be used, e.g., by eliminating or adding an outfielder, or by stacking multiple cards in a position or the dugout. In some embodiments, the position of a card in the game must match the position listed on the card (e.g., the card depicting a major league first baseman is placed at first). In other embodiments, the position listed on the card may be ignored for purposes of the game, or non-baseball or even non-sports cards may be used.

To start the game, or when players switch from offence to defense at the middle or top on an inning, a player on defense may set up his cards at positions corresponding to defensive positions in the game of baseball, such as a pitcher 310, catcher 312, first baseman 320, second baseman 322, shortstop 324, third baseman 326, left fielder 330, center fielder 332, and right fielder 334, as shown in FIG. 3. The player's additional cards may be placed off to a side of the board 100, e.g., in a “dugout” area off the third baseline (the line between third base 116 and home plate 118).

The offense is the team that is up to bat. In some embodiments, the offense player/team also at least nine baseball cards to play, corresponding to each of the defensive position for when that player switches to defense. This second player/team may hold the bulk of his or her cards 350 in an opposite “dugout” area off the first base line, and place a batter 340 in a batter's box area at home plate 118. The offensive player's next batter 342 (e.g., the next batter up after the current batter 340 hits) may be placed in an “on deck” area or circle off the board 100 somewhere between the cards in the dugout 350 and home plate 118. In some embodiments, one or more on-deck circles, disks, mats, or game pieces pay be included or incorporated into the board 100.

The game piece ball 370 may be used as the baseball, e.g., for batters to “hit” and fielders to catch, retrieve, and/or throw during the course of the game. The ball 370 may be a coin (e.g., a penny or other coin) or a ball, disc, chip or other object that may be tossed by players as described in more detail below.

At the start of an inning, as described above a batter 340 may be positioned on or near home plate 118 to start, and the next batter up 342 may be positioned in an “on deck” area at the side of the board as shown. Each player may have an extra stack of player cards 350, 360 for use as batters and/or position players, depending upon whether they are on offense or defense (e.g., in the top or bottom of an inning).

The cards 310, 312, 320, 322, 324, 326, 330, 332, 334, 340, 342, 350, 360, may be any existing baseball cards the user(s) collection, for example collectible baseball cards such as those from Topps, Upper Deck, Donruss, Panini, or other manufacturers or distributors of collectible or trading cards. In some embodiments, other collectible or trading cards may be used, including for example sports and non-sports cards such as cards featuring hockey, basketball, baseball, Pokémon, cartoon characters, movies, television shows, or fantasy characters, for example. In some embodiments, players may “win” cards from another player, or players may trade cards for example based on the outcome of a game and/or events during the course of a game, such as outs, runs, home runs, fly outs, etc.

Example methods of play using game setup 200 are shown and described below with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5. One skilled in the art will appreciate that other steps, methods, strategies, game pieces, maneuvers, or variations may be employed without departing from the sprit and scope of the disclosed baseball board game.

III. Example Methods of Play

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 5, example methods of playing a baseball-themed board game are provided.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a method 400 of playing a baseball-themed board game in accordance with an example embodiment, showing aspects of the game such as “hitting” (or batting), “running”, and fielding. In this example, for simplicity of discussion the batter 340 and left fielder 330 are the only players shown, however all other cards would be placed around the game as shown in FIG. 3.

You can play Go! Baseball with a single player, 2 players playing one-on-one or 4 players with 2 players on each team. Players may do a coin toss or other method to see which team will play defense and offense, then get into position.

To begin a batter's at-bat, the player (i.e., the player/user on offense) hits, or flips, the ball/coin 370 to a desired location (e.g., to the outfield or a position on the infield. In some embodiments, to “hit”, the user 410 may place the coin 370 (e.g., a penny) between his or her thumbs and catapult the penny to a desired location, for example to location 370′ as shown in dashed lines the example method 400 of FIG. 4. After the batter hits the ball 370, the nearest outfielder, e.g., card 330, is flipped by the user on defense one time towards the ball/coin 370′. The batter 340 then runs toward first base 112, by the offensive user 410 flipping the card one time towards the base, e.g., to position 340′ as shown in dashed lines.

In order for a baseball card, e.g., batter card 340 or fielder card 330, to move to the next base (as a runner on offense) or to reach the ball 370′ (as a fielder on defense), the players will take turns flipping the respective cards one time each. If the fielder 330 reaches the coin (e.g., at position 370′) before the runner 340 (e.g., running along base path at position 340′) reaches the next base (e.g., first base 112 as shown in FIG. 4), the player on defense “throws” the coin (e.g., catapulting between thumbs as described above) towards the base to which the runner 340 is running (e.g., first base 112). If the coin hits or otherwise touches the base 112, the runner is out. If the coin misses the base, the players resume alternative flipping the runner and nearest fielder (which now may be a different defensive card closest to the new position of the coin) until either the runner is safe at a base or the runner is out (e.g., by hitting the base 112 as described above).

Various other rules or variations may be employed. For example, in some embodiments, if the coin 370′ hits the runner 340′ the runner may be out. In some embodiments, if a batter/player 410 catapults the coin 370 and it hits or lands on a defensive card/fielder, the batter card 340 may be out. In some embodiment, the runner may try to advance to the next base (one flip at a time, as described above) if the fielder (e.g. fielder 330 or any other fielder) has not been able to reach the ball 370′ and/or throw out the runner. In some embodiments, if a batter 410/340 is able to catapult the coin 370 over the fence 120 it is a home run. In some embodiments, throwing the coin 370 over the fence 120 may be an out (e.g., after a certain number of home runs already recorded during a game or inning). In some embodiments, bouncing the coin 370 over the fence, or knocking over the fence 120, may be a home run or a ground-rule double. In some embodiments, a defensive player throwing the ball 370 past a base (e.g. first base 112 or third base 116) may cause each runner to automatically advance one base (or in some embodiments at least one base).

In some embodiments, an associated software application (also referred to as an “App”) running on a mobile device such as a cell phone or tablet, or on a computer. Such an App may be used in connection with a board game described herein, for example to keep score, to track statistics, to keep track of cards used or traded during the course of the game, to provide card value, etc. In some embodiments, a Mobile App on a user's mobile device (or the devices of multiple users) may track game progress, scores, player statistics, league standings, etc., and/or may communicate over a wired or wireless network with a central server or cloud-based service or services, and may communicate with Apps of other users.

In some embodiments, throwing the coin 370 to a base in advance of the runner 340′ who is on the between first base 112 and second base 114, or between second base 114 and third base 116, or between third base 116 and home plate 118, may result in “pickle” if the previous base is not occupied by a runner (i.e., if there is no force play, as in baseball). In such embodiments, if the runner 340 is between first 112 and second 114 for example, and the fielder 330 throws the ball 370 to second base 114, the runner 340 may run (i.e., flip) back towards first base 112, whereupon the defensive player may throw the ball 370 to first base 112 to attempt to throw out the runner 340. If, in this example, the ball does not hit first base, then the runner may continue towards first base (one flip at a time alternating with the defense) or second base 114 while the nearest player's card is flipped (again, one at a time alternating with the runner(s)) toward the ball to attempt to throw out the runner (e.g., hit the base to which the runner is advancing) as described above.

In some embodiments, if one or more runners are on base (e.g., if batter 340 reaches base safely) when a new batter is up, after the offensive player 410 “hits” the ball 370, the nearest fielder flips, then each runner flips once (e.g., a runner from third base, then second base, then first base), then the fielder flips, and so-on. In some embodiments, the fielder may flip between each runner's flip, e.g., to give the defense a greater chance of recording an out. Other sequences or combinations of maneuvering offensive and defensive players/cards may be employed as desired.

In some embodiments, the game may be played in nine innings, each with three outs per half-inning, as in a regular baseball game. Some embodiments may use fewer innings, or may employ extra innings in the event of a tie. Each time a runner/card reaches home plate before 3 outs are recorded that team scores a run. The game may end after a set amount of inning (e.g., 9 innings or other desired number), or may end after a team reaches a designated number of runs, for example, once a team reaches 10 runs (or another desired number of runs in a game or inning), or once a team is winning by 10 runs during the game (e.g., a “slaughter rule”).

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depiction of a method 500 of playing a baseball board game in accordance with an example embodiment. In this example, the game board 100, fence 120, and cards for both teams may be set up as shown in FIG. 2 through FIG. 4 and described above.

In a first step 502 after the cards are set up, the batter (e.g., batter 340 of FIGS. 3 and 4) may “hit” the ball (or coin 370) by catapulting or otherwise throwing, tossing, flipping or flinging the coin. In 504, the defense team flips the card of the fielder closest to the where the coin lands towards the position of the coin (e.g., left fielder 330 flips towards coin position 370′ as shown in FIG. 4). If player reaches the ball in 506, the fielder throws 512 the ball toward the base to which the runner is headed. If the ball hits 514 the base, the runner is out 516. If in 506 the runner had not reached the ball, or if in 514 the ball does not hit the base, the runner card is flipped in 508 towards the base (which may be repeated for each runner on base). If the runner (or runners) have not reached base 510, step 504 is repeated and teams alternate flipping fielder(s) and runner(s) until the runner is safe in 520 or a runner is out in 516. If a runner is safe in step 520, or if a runner is out in 516 and there are less than three outs in step 526, then the players determine if any other runners are still between bases in 522. If the answer to 522 is “yes”, then the sequence beginning with 504 repeats again until there are no other runners between bases in 522 or three outs in the inning have been recorded in 526. If there are less than three outs in 526 and all baserunners are safely on base in 522, then the next batter is up 524 and that batter hits the ball in 502 to repeat the sequence(s). Once the third out is made in 526, the end of that half-inning is reached and the teams switch offense and defense, after which the method 500 is repeated for the team now on offense, with the player up to bat is the card in the batting order after the batter to record the last out in that team's previous offensive inning.

IV. Conclusion

The foregoing description illustrates various embodiments along with examples of how aspects of the systems may be implemented. The above examples and embodiments should not be deemed to be the only embodiments, and are presented to illustrate the flexibility and advantages of the systems. In the figures, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. Other embodiments can be utilized, and other changes can be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A baseball-themed board game, comprising: a game board having markings corresponding to a baseball diamond, including a first base, a second base, a third base, and a home plate; and a fence, configured and dimensioned to be positioned on a floor at a desired distance from the game board, wherein the game board and the fence, when positioned on the floor at the desired distance from the game board, define a playing field.
 2. The baseball-themed board game of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of trading cards; and a coin or disk configured and dimensioned to be placed between the thumbs of a player and propelled across the playing field.
 3. The baseball-themed board game of claim 2, wherein the plurality of trading cards are baseball trading cards previously collected by the player.
 4. A method, comprising: providing a game board having markings corresponding to a baseball diamond, including a first base, a second base, a third base, and a home plate; providing a fence, configured and dimensioned to be positioned on a floor at a desired distance from the game board; providing a ball, a coin, or a disk to function as a baseball; placing the game board and the fence on a floor with the fence comprising a plurality of fence members and a plurality of stands assembled to form an outfield wall oriented substantially perpendicular with respect the floor, and wherein the fence and the game board define an outfield and the game board and outfield comprise a field of play; positioning a plurality of trading cards of a first user about the field of play in positions corresponding to defensive positions in baseball; positioning a batter/runner trading card of a second user on the game board on or near the home plate marking; propelling the baseball from between the second user's opposing thumbs into a location within the field of play; flipping one of the trading cards of the first user towards the location of the baseball; flipping the batter/runner card of the second user towards first base on the game board. 